Universities for Food Lovers

From prize vineyards to massive crawfish boils, colleges across the country are luring students with food- and wine-centric courses, programs and perks.

From prize vineyards to massive crawfish boils, colleges across the country are luring students with food- and wine-centric courses, programs and perks.

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Food & Wine

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Bacon Lovers: University of Wisconsin at Madison

When undergrads wrap up UW’s two-year meat science program, they earn the title of Master Meat Crafter. It’s a funny name that recalls the carnivore’s equivalent of an ice sculptor, but a cool program: Students learn all about sausage making and bacon curing, both in the classroom and with hands-on meat processing work. Among the benefits: after a two-day meat curing lesson, participants sit down to eat their projects. fyi.uwex.edu

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Vegan Heaven: UCLA

In 2010, UCLA won PETA2’s Most Vegan-Friendly College Contest. (PETA2 being the animal rights group’s student branch.) At UCLA, food-service workers regularly met with the student-run Bruins for Animals. The school offers dozens of vegan options, including veggie chicken fingers, Indian chickpea curry (left) and vegan chili cheese dogs; for dessert, there are vegan cappuccino cookies. bruinsforanimals.org

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Sustainable Superstars: Pomona College

By 2015, the school aims to source 100 percent of its seafood from fisheries that don’t practice overfishing. All the coffee and tea is fair trade organic, all eggs are sourced from cage-free chickens and most of the meat served is humanely raised. pomona.edu

Gastronauts in Training: Harvard

Harvard’s Science & Cooking course is one of the most popular classes offered by the Ivy League school and it’s no surprise why. In the past, the class has featured provocative chefs like Ferran Adria, wd~50’s Wylie Dufresne and Momofuku’s David Chang as guest speakers. Rather than end with an exam or a paper, students complete the class by conducting a culinary experiment. seas.harvard.edu

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Ultimate Food Neighborhood: NYU

As nice as cafeteria salad bars and made-to-order omelets could ever be, NYU students benefit from all the culinary delights of lower Manhattan. Options for between class snacks in Greenwich Village range from a beautiful portion of sea salt-speckled pizza bianca from Sullivan Street’s Grandaisy Bakery to crispy Korean fried chicken from Bon Chon (left) on St. Marks Place. Not far, Grom makes fabulous gelato with exceptional ingredients like Sicilian pistachios. Lets just say that many students cut back on in-house meal plans after the first semester. nyu.edu

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Liberal Arts Cuisine: Boston University

Founded by legendary chefs Jacques Pépin and Julia Child, BU’s Master of Liberal Arts in Gastronomy approaches food studies through historical texts, scientific research and literary works. In addition to courses required for the degree, students can attend seminars and lectures that range from demonstrations to dinners out with notable New England chefs like Blue Ginger’s Ming Tsai. bu.edu

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Pop-Up Entrepreneurs: Newbury College

In 2011, seniors at the Saunders School of Hotel & Restaurant Management in Massachusetts opened a public pop-up restaurant as their final project. The menu included culinary takes on college favorites like hot pockets filled with wild mushrooms and truffles, ramen noodles topped with scallops, mussels and clams, and a cereal-infused panna cotta. Though this was the first pop up, Newbury undergrads are not new to hands-on restaurant management: the Lois and David Weltman Dining Room (left) serves as a practice space for students who prepare and serve meals. newbury.edu

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Students of Andrew Zimmern: Babson College

Not only is Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods host Andrew Zimmern a contributing editor to Food & Wine, he is also an entrepreneur-in-residence at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts. The adventurous eater and talented chef held a fireside chat at the college in February when he spoke about traveling the world, taking action and building underwater condos for octopi. babson.edu

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Crawfish Boil: Tulane University

New Orleans’ appetite for delicious Cajun and Creole food is legendary. Tulane students never have to go far for a fantastic meal but the school’s annual Crawfest is one of the most celebrated events of the year. Every April, the festival draws a crowd of up to 12,000 students and community members for a feast of over 16,000 pounds of crawfish steamed with corn and potatoes, all poured over long, newspaper-covered tables. As much as New Orleans is a food town it’s also a music town with a strong tradition of funk, blues and zydeco—all of which are represented by the local bands playing at the fest. crawfest.tulane.edu

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Agricultural Innovators: Cornell University

Cornell’s Agricultural Experiment Station in upstate New York attracts and trains the best horticulturists in the world. Hybrid studies at the station consistently yield new plants like the Herriot, a large, high yield and disease resistant strawberry and the Crimson Giant, a raspberry developed specifically for the New York climate, which continues to ripen into November. cornell.edu

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Beer Connoisseurs: Appalachian State University

Appalachian students with an interest in the fermentation sciences can get hands-on experience at the North Carolina campus’ Ivory Tower Brewery during brewing class, which began as an honors chemistry course. In June of 2012, a Bachelor of Science degree program in Fermentations Sciences was approved. Now, budding brewers can dedicate a full four years to learning how to brew, ferment and market their own products. Additionally, the school’s annual High Country Beer Fest features student-made selections and other regional microbrews from producers such as the Triangle Brewing Company, which is known for its easy-drinking Belgian- and American-style ales. appstate.edu

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Future Winemakers: University of California Davis

Many of the country’s best winemakers are trained at UC Davis’ viticulture and enology program. While there are classroom sessions, much of the instruction takes place in the field. Students have access to 120 acres of vineyards on campus, as well as the 40-acre Oakville Experimental Vineyards in Napa where Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petite Sirah, Syrah and Zinfandel grow in conditions similar to those of top California wineries. The on-campus cellar is a wine lover’s dream. It holds over 70,000 aging bottles from the 1930’s to modern day, including each vintage of the wines made by Davis students. wineserver.ucdavis.edu

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Budget-Minded Gourmets: University of Texas Austin

As one of the best up-and-coming food cities in the country, Austin is an incredible setting for food-obsessed students on a budget. Torchy’s Tacos is a local favorite, offering a wide range of creative and seriously filling tacos like “The Wrangler,” a breakfast-only order packed with scrambled eggs, potatoes, cheese and smoked beef brisket. Among the most popular food trucks, Coreanos sells Korean barbecue-style burritos, and appealing to co-ed humor, the Love Balls bus hawks hot, crispy Japanese takoyaki, batter-dipped bits of octopus fried into balls via a special pan. utexas.edu

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Future Farmers: Green Mountain College

The Vermont school’s Farm & Food Project aims to reconnect students with the origins of food and how they as individuals relate to the environment. Students take part in every aspect of growing, harvesting and selling produce from the wind- and solar-powered Cerridwen Farm, in addition to raising livestock, tending beehives and butchering sheep, chickens and pigs. No tractors or diesel-fueled vehicles are used, rather two oxen—who go by the names Bill and Lou—help plow the land. greenmtn.edu

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Lobster Bake Fanatics: Bowdoin

Since 1960, Bowdoin students have kicked off the fall semester with an over-the-top Maine lobster bake. The lobsters are steamed simply in tinfoil pouches filled with seaweed, and the feast includes fish chowder, steamed clams, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, salad, cornbread and blueberry cake. The bakes are delicious and great marketing: campus catering will organize one anytime for groups of at least 50. bowdoin.edu

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